A heavily-deflected Giselle Ansley goal took some of the wind out of the Irish women’s sails but the upshot of their 1-0 loss to England at Lee Valley has probably provided the perfect scenario for Thursday’s World Cup quarter-final.

Champions Holland successfully defended their title to spoil Argentina captain Luciana Aymar’s farewell to international hockey on her 35th birthday with a 2-0 victory at the Riverbank Arena last night.

England 3 Ireland 1